Hand coal-conveyer



2 Sheets-Sheet Patented June. 9, 1885*.0

N4 PETERS. PholoLikhognphur. Wanhllgcn. D. C,

(No Model.)

W.'S. TOMKINS'. HAND G OAL GONVEYER.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W. s; TOMKINS.

HAND GOAL GONVEYBR. No. 319,865. y Patented June 9, 1885.

"q IHM y wml WILLTAM s. rroivixins, oE'BooN'roN, NEW JEnsEY.

HAND COALQCONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,865, dated `Tune 9, 1885.

Application inea May 4,1885. Y (No modem idle pulley or pulleys at the opposite end of the frame to guide and return the chain to the sprocket-wheel.

It also consists in the combination, with the frame or legs adapted to rest Within a coalcar, of a seat adapted to support an operator adjacent to the hand-cranks.

The invention may be used for .shifting coal l by hand-power from either a boat or from an opening in the bottom of the car.

The latter construction is shown in Figures l and 2, Fig. l representing one end of a coalcar in plan, and Fig. 2 representing the same in elevation,with the nearer side of the car removed to exhibit the operator and machine.

Fig. 3 represents a plan of the conveyer ap plied to a boat and coal-bin. Fig. 4 represents the same parts in elevation, the boat being shown in section at the nearer side of the conveyer. Fig. 5-is a section of the conveyer on line :v x in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a diagram of the handgearing.

The conveyer is partly adapted for use in the long cars which are frequently employed to transport a large quantity of coal, and from which the coal is discharged through an opening or trap, T, in the center of thebottom.

In such cars a sloping bottom has sometimes been used to make the coal flow readily toward such opening; but as the capacity of the car is greatly diminished by such construction a flat bottom is preferable, such as is shown in- Fig. 2 at E. With such a bottom, however, and with cars of twenty-five to thirty-ve feet in length, it has been necessary to have a large proportion of the coal shoveled from the end of the car to the opening in the middle.

My conveyer is intended to furnish a light portable machine, which may rest directly upon the coal'and operate to shift from the ends toward the middle of the car that .portion of the coal which will not flow kout of the opening voluntarily. This operation is effected by the movement of the buckets traveling along the under side of the frame and scraping or pushing the coal before them as the operator sits upon the frame and rotates the gearingby hand-cranks attached thereto. This construction is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, where A is a frame formed of two planks connected by cross-'ties B. C are legs secured to the frame .to rest upon the coal D in the bottom of the a is the conveyer-chain; b, the buckets thereon; c, the sprocket-wheel, and d the sprocket wheel shaft.

e is the idle-pulley at the opposite end of the frame, and f its shaft fitted to bearings g upon the frame A.

F isacrank-shaft mounted in bearings upon the frame A adjacent to the shaft d, and provided with cranks h and gear H, which meshes l with a gear, G, upon the sprocket-shaft d.

I is a seat secured upon the frame A near the shaft F, upon which the operator J may sit when turning the cranks h.

The entire structure is made very light and portable, and the seat is preferably set back from the end of the frame, as shown in the drawings, so that the chain and buckets may be set close to the end of the car. The legs O are preferably constructed with flat feet C at the bottom, andthese feet are proportioned so as to support the weight of the machine as it rests upon the coal in the car, and sustain the frame at such a distance from the surface of the coal that the Scrapers or buckets will operate suitably in propelling the same toward the trap T. The operators feet may rest upon the front feet C of the frame, as shown in Fig. 2, the frame and operator settling down together as the coal is scraped from under the machine "and the support for the lattergradually diminished. The conveyer may be made of sufficient length to extend entirely over or past the trap T,as the buckets become inoperative as soon as they have discharged their load into the trap, and the extra length thus produces no difference in the operation of the machine, while it adapts it to cars of the greatest maximum length. It may therefore be made of such length that it can be used at IOO v upon which they can travel, as the small' buckets employed may be traversed with per-` the same coal-yard for shifting the coal either from a car or boat; but when it is used eX- clusively for the latter purpose a slight change in the arrangement of the crankshaft may be made, if desired, as it is not requisite that the operator should sit over the frame. In such case two chains may be used instead of one, and larger buckets be employed, as shown in Figs. 3 to 5, inclusive, in which case the buckets would require to be supplied each with one scoopful of coal by an operator placed in the boat adjacent to the frame. The boat is shown at L in Figs. 3 and 4, the lower legs of the' frame having their feet supported upon the coal, (indicated at D,) and a screen, S, being arranged beneath'the 4upper end of the frame to receive the coal as it falls from the buckets.

R is a coal-binsituated upon the wharf W, and the frame and screen are sustained upon the coal-bin, as shown in Fig. 4, so that the dust and dirt which pass through `the screen may fall or be conducted outside of the bin,ias by a chute, so that the coal delivered into the binwill be entirely clean and readyfor immediate use. The buckets applied to the double chains are provided with wheels n, and the frame is provided with upper and lower bars, o and p, upon which the wheels may run as the buckets travel up and down upon the frame. The crank-shaft is shown arranged across the frame between the chains in such position that the operator may stand upon a platform, P, outsideof the bin, to turn the crank at either side of the frame, as may beA pass, and the entire load upon the chain is` thus so light that it may be easily elevated by the hand gearing shown. My invention is therefore adapted for use in many places where steam or horse power is not available,or Where the conveyer is seldom required for use, the

cheapness of the construction and its lightness and portability rendering it very convenient for application to either the car or boat, as may be desired.

The construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is 4fully adapted for use with the boat by furnishing the buckets with rollers and a-track feet facility by means of a singleichain, and the lower end of the frame may be readily provided with an adjustable leg to adapt it for use in the two different positions required. 1

The hand-gearing shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is equally adapted for use when the conveyer is applied to a boat, the alternative construction in Fig. 4 being shown simply as a modification, and the fly-wheels being equally adapted for use with the conveyer when applied to a car.

As the seat is arranged above the buckets, it is obvious that the precise construction shown in Fig. 2 may be supported by the coal-bin and the operator sit upon the seat to actuate the cranks, the same as when the device is applied to a car. f

As the object of the handgearing is to increase the power of the operator, although it diminishes the speed of the buckets, it is obv ious that the main shaft and crankshaft may l be supplied with chain-wheels and connected with a chain belt, such as is now often used in transmitting motion. To illustrate this construction,the diagram in Fig. 6 shows the end of the frame and the seat with such an alternative gearing, the chain-wheels being proportioned to produce the desired relative speed.

I am aware that it is not new to propel buckets, Scrapers, or carriers of any kind by means of a chain and sprocket wheels; and I am also aware that a frame carrying such mechanism-is often hinged at one end, where it is connected with a rotating drivingshaft, so as to be movable at the other end, and I do not therefore claim such a construction. But I am not aware that any conveyer-frame has ever been made as an entirely independent structure disconnected from other mechanism and furnished with its own gearing and adapted for operation by hand-power; and

my invention therefore furnishes a device capable of use in different situations and in a variety of ways, and therefore possesses functions not heretofore performed by other devices.

Having thus `distinguished my invention from others,I claim my particular construction in the following manner:

l. The conveyer consisting of the side frames, A, having the idle-pulley at one end and the sprocket-wheel at the other, the chain or chains carrying the buckets, the gearing to rotate the sprocket-wheel, and the crank-shaft and hand-cranks to operate t-he gearing and move the chain, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, with the conveyer constructed as herein shown and described, of the screen arranged to receive the coal from the conveyer and to deliver the dirt outside of the bin and the coal into the bin, as and for the purpose set forth.

`3. The combination, with the frame having the sprocket-wheels and chains provided with buckets `and provided with `the gearing and hand-cranks to operate the same, as described, of the seat arranged upon the frame for the operator, adjacent to the hand-cranks, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM S. TOMKINS.

Witnesses:

Trios. S. CRANE, L. LEE.

IOO

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